Drowning in Sorrow
by Hotaru
Summary: When shots are fired outside of Chris' home, he disappears.rnrnLeon pursues his missing partner, while Claire is faced with temptation.
1. Beginning

"_The way to love anything is to realize that it might be lost_." –G.K. Chesterton

Chris Redfield was the kind of person that you either love or hate. The people that hate him do so because he's perfect. The perfect cop, brother, and citizen. He makes everyone else look bad without even trying. That's not to say that he had many enemies, though. There were some from his past that faded away in time, and a few criminals still sore from being arrested.

So, when gunfire erupted outside of his Pleasant Valley Avenue home, you'd expect there to be a certain amount of attention paid to the incident. At around seven thirty p.m., an unknown sniper opened fire on the quaint home in the middle of the street. One person was shot, and the sniper had disappeared before the cops arrived.

No one paid attention to who the victim was. They had been shot in the head, and sped off in an ambulance within minutes. Chris' partner, Leon Kennedy arrived at the scene fifteen minutes after the shooting occurred. The neighborhood was bright with red and blue lights. Men in blue were everywhere, and paper cups were placed over the shells from the fired bullets.

Leon tried to remain calm as he climbed out of his car and headed towards the entrance to the house. There was a pool of blood on the floor where the victim had been. Mark Houston, Leon's boss and the lieutenant of the detective squad he was a member of, stood hunched over, examining the scattered shells.

"Boss…" Leon greeted, his voice sounding shakier that he wanted it to. "What's going on?" Houston straightened and took a sip of his coffee.

"Leon…I was hoping you'd know. We got a call about shots being fired maybe twenty minutes ago. A squad car was in the area, so they flew on over here after hearing who's house this was."

"Without ordering back up?" Leon questioned.

Houston nodded. "You know the rookies. They all look up to Redfield. Anyways, they came over here and could still smell the gun powder in the area. There was a victim on the ground, and the gunman was gone." He explained.

"Chris…?"

"No one knows where he is."

Leon turned his head to the side. "What? He-he headed home about a half an hour ago. He should be here." He replied.

"Yeah, well he's not. No one can seem to find him. We've been calling him on his cell phone every fifteen minutes since we got here." Houston said with a sigh. Leon turned to go into Chris' house. He pulled out his keys and rummaged around before finding the one to the front door.

_"If you ever need a place to stay, don't hesitate to come on over. Just try not to wake me up."_

Pushing the door open, Leon stepped inside. He turned on the light switch on the wall to his right. Chris' jacket and keys weren't there. "Hey, were there any lights on when you guys got here?" Leon asked one of the young men in uniform.

"A few, mostly table lamps and stuff." One of them replied.

"Was anything disturbed? Phone off the hook, chairs knocked over…anything like that?" Leon continued.

They both shook their heads 'no'. Leon wandered through the rooms in the first floor, trying to notice if anything was out of the ordinary by Chris' standards. The house was still dimly lit, as Chris liked it. In the back of his mind, Leon was thinking of Claire. Chris' baby sister, and someone close to his heart. If she got the news that there was an incident at Chris' house, she'd knock over old ladies just to get there faster.

When he got to the kitchen, Leon's eyes stopped at a plate on the stove. There was a bag of frozen chicken defrosting. "Yo!" Leon shouted, back towards the living room. One of the young officers ran in.

"What?" He asked urgently. Leon pointed to the chicken.

"This was out when you got here?" He asked.

"Yeah, we didn't touch a thing."

Leon waved the officer away, and started heading towards the front door. "Chris left food out for dinner, meaning he was planning on staying at home long enough to cook and eat. He should have been here a few minutes before the shooting. So why did he leave..?" He mumbled to himself as he walked to his car.

"Leon, where are you going?" Houston asked, jogging after him.

"Chris' car isn't here, and he's got a radio in it, right? Why hasn't anyone thought to radio him?" Leon asked.

"…"

"Alright then." Leon closed the door and grabbed his radio.

Sighing, he held it up to his mouth. "Chris…it's me. You there?" He asked. He listened through the silence, waiting for something, anything, from his missing partner. "Chris…alright, you don't have to answer, but at least listen. The cops are at your house, someone was shot and no one has any idea where the hell you are. No one's pointing fingers or anything but everyone's wondering why you're not here. I haven't talked to Claire yet, and I'd at least like to let her know you're okay. My cell is dying, so I have to charge it whenever I get a chance but you better call me soon, got it?"

Tossing his radio on the passenger seat, Leon rested his head against the steering wheel. He felt his phone vibrating in his pocket, so he dug it out and looked at the screen. _Claire…she's going to be pissed at me for not calling her. _He pressed the button to accept the call and whispered a dull "Hello."

"Leon, it's me. Where are you?" Claire said quickly.

"…no where. Why, what's wrong?"

"Haven't you heard? Jill's been shot."

END


	2. Drama

_"In my dreams, I've seen a meadow where no lies bloom, stretching on for as far as the eyes may see, and it's there I wait for you." Utada Hikaru, __Deep River_

Leon's mouth became dry as his eyes wandered across the street. He looked at the pool of blood on the floor. "Jill…was shot?" He asked slowly.

"Yes. I got a call from the police 'cause my number was in her cell phone. They didn't give me any details, just that she was being taken to the hospital." Claire explained.

"Okay. Where are you? Which hospital, I mean?"

"Saint Augustine. You know where that is, right?"

"Yeah. I'm on my way."

He hung up the phone and climbed out of the car again. His shoes clacked against the pavement as he quickly made his way towards his boss. "Houston, why didn't you tell me who the victim was?" He asked angrily.

"Because I didn't know." Houston replied.

"That's bullshit. Why didn't you tell me?" Leon exclaimed.

"_This _is why. You're losing your temper now cause someone you care about is hurt. I didn't want it clouding your judgment."

Leon turned around and punched at the air, a habit he had formed early in his career. "Look, go to the hospital and then go home. You need some rest. We'll let you know if we hear from Redfield." Houston said, putting his hand on Leon's shoulder. Nodding, Leon went back to his car and headed to the hospital.

The roads were mostly empty, which allowed Leon to let his mind be distracted. Claire would be pissed at him for not telling her about Chris' disappearance. She'd probably be more than pissed.

After pulling into the parking lot of St. Augustine Hospital, Leon slowly headed inside. "Can I help you sir?" A nurse asked, as Leon walked by with his head down.

"Um…yeah. I'm looking for Jill Valentine." He said, snapping to attention.

"Alright, the person at that desk over there can help you out." The nurse answered, before walking away quickly. Leon stopped at the desk and tapped on it to get the person's attention.

"Yo, buddy, can you stop ogling Mario for a second?" Leon asked, irritated when the man ignored him.

"How can I help you?" The man finally asked, tossing his Game Boy on the counter.

"Jill Valentine. Where is she?" Leon questioned. Spinning around in his chair, the guy looked at a marker board attached to the wall.

"I believe she's up in surgery." He answered.

"Which floor is that?"

"Third."

Rolling his eyes, Leon walked towards the elevator. The rest of the world was muted, and Leon barely heard Claire calling his name as he walked onto the third floor. "Leon!" It was on the third try that she finally got his attention.

"Hey baby." Leon mumbled, pulling Claire into a hug.

"Are you okay?" She replied into his shirt.

"Not really. Where's Jill?"

"Still in surgery, I think. Let's go sit in the waiting room."

They walked hand-in-hand to the forest green colored room. There was one other person in there, a young man whose knee was bouncing rapidly. He didn't blink as Claire and Leon walked into the room. "So why don't you tell me what happened?" Leon asked.

"I can tell you all I know, but I hope that you had heard something about the shooting." Claire replied.

"…"

"Well, I got a call from a cop saying that there had been an accident, and Jill was injured. They told me to come here, and when I did, I found out that she had been shot…in the head."

"In the head? And she's still alive?" Leon exclaimed.

"Yes…the bullet got lodged in such away that it didn't kill her instantly…something like that. I don't know the details. They just called me."

Leon put his arm around Claire. She and Jill had become very close since being introduced years ago. "Claire…" Leon began as she rested her head on his shoulder.

"Hm?"

"Have you heard from Chris today?"

"No…why? He was at work, right?"

"Yeah. But uh…"

Claire sat up and gazed at Leon with her piercingly blue eyes. "Leon, what is it?" She questioned.

"The ah…the shooting…it happened outside of Chris' house and no one can seem to find him…" Leon said slowly.

"_What?_"

"I radioed him when I got to the scene, and they've been calling his cell phone since the shooting happened. He didn't leave a note or anything like that. He's just…gone."

Then, Claire got that expression on her face. The "I'm too pissed off for words" look that Leon hated. "Why the hell didn't you tell me?!" She exclaimed, finally causing the other person in the room to jump a bit. Leon put his hands on her arms and sat her back down.

"Please relax, Claire. I didn't not tell you on purpose, there was just a million other things going on so I couldn't!"

"Like what?!"

"Well for one thing, I had to search his damn house to make sure nothing was messed up, to make sure there wasn't some note or anything. I talked with our boss, radioed Chris, then I got the call from you."

Claire shifted her jaw, making her bottom lip protrude. "When my brother, my only family is missing, contacting me should be priority don't you think?"

"Claire…look, he could have gone to the store for some milk and eggs, something as simple as that. I wasn't about to jump to any conclusions, okay?" Leon said defensively.

A nurse wearing green scrubs walked into the room. "Miss? Your friend is out of surgery. The doctor can speak with you now." She said, ushering Claire and Leon into the hallway. Leon juggled the change in his pants pocket nervously as they approached a man looking at a chart. "Doctor?" Claire asked, for he acted like they weren't even there.

"Yes, Miss Valentine is out of surgery and is currently in the recovery room." He said, not bothering to look up.

Leon and Claire leaned in, expecting some more information. "So she's alive?" Leon asked sardonically. The doctor tossed the chart down in a huff.

"Yes, she's alive. But she's in a coma due to the massive trauma she's gone through. That's all the information we have for you at this time. The nurse will escort you to see her, if you'll excuse me." He rambled, before hurrying off.

"Jack ass." Leon spat. "What is it with everyone today? Christ."

The duo walked behind the nurse around the area until they arrived at a door. The nurse opened the door for them, and then disappeared. "Oh, Jill…" Claire cried, running over to the bed. Leon bit his lip as he made his way towards the injured young woman. Her skin was pale, and her hair was matted. There was a bandage wrapped around her head, presumably where she was shot with the bullet.

"Do you think Chris knows about this? Maybe that's why he ran…" Claire murmured, holding Jill's hand.

"Could be. He does depend on Jill like he depends on air. Dammit, I just wish he would call someone at let us know where the hell he is, you know?" Leon said, pulling over two stools for them to sit on.

"I hope to God there's a message on my machine when I get home. I can't believe Chris would just leave at a time like this!"

Leon sighed. "That's what's bothering me." He mumbled to himself. Claire was stroking Jill's hand, half paying attention to Leon.

"I hope no one is accusing him of anything." She said. "Just because he's gone doesn't mean he's guilty."

"I know that. It's just…"

"What?"

Leon shook his head and rubbed his eyes. "It feels like the weight of the world is on my shoulders, and everyone is depending on me. Only I can't do anything to help them." He said.

Claire rubbed his shoulders while looking at Jill with glazed-over eyes. "Maybe you just need a good night's rest. Do you want to go home?"

"I can't leave you here alone. And what about poor Jill?"

"I can stay." Claire offered.

Yawning, Leon shook his head. "I'll get you a cup of coffee and something to eat, okay?" Claire said, patting his hand. The dimness of the room only helped to pull Leon further into depression. His eyelids felt heavy, and his eyes burned each time he blinked. He glanced at Jill's face and sighed.

"What happened to you?" He whispered, staring at her perfect complexion. "No wonder Chris is in love with you." Leaning back, he put his hands behind his head. Tomorrow, he would have to wake up early to go to Jill's apartment to look for any clues about the shooting and Chris' disappearance.

It was a while later that Claire finally came back with a tray of food and drink for Leon. "Hey, where've you been?" Leon asked her as she placed the tray on a swing-out table.

"I got carried away listening to the rain. Plus there was a line." Claire replied.

"At this hour? Maybe there was a mass casualty or something."

"Anyway, I got you a hamburger and a Coke. There wasn't much there."

Leon unwrapped the silver foil from the burger and took a look at it. "Thanks, anyway. I'm not that hungry, so this should suffice." He ate his food in silence, while Claire watched over her friend. Neither of them expected Jill to survive a bullet to the head. The doctors weren't sure if Jill could even make a meaningful recovery after going through such trauma. But she was a fighter, and if she didn't give up, then neither should they.

Several hours later, in the wee hours of the morning, Claire and Leon decided to head home for the night. "Do you want me to go to your place?" Claire asked as they walked towards the parking lot. Leon shook his head.

"Nah, that's alright. I'll be going to sleep, then waking up bright and early tomorrow." He said, pulling his keys from his pocket.

"Oh, alright. Call me in the morning." Claire said, lifting her self up on her tippy toes to peck Leon on the cheek.

END


	3. Hero

_"Forevermore I'll quietly watch that sleeping face until the gentle wind which tempts us to sleep surrounds me." Hyde, Butterfly's Sleep_

Leon's hands gripped the steering wheel as he struggled to stay awake. Worrying about his partner and friend was weighing heavily on him. A mellow song played on the radio, causing Leon's thoughts to shift from the road to other things. Snapping awake from a brief sleep, Leon quickly pulled over and shut his car off. _I'll take a quick walk to wake myself up and then head back come. _

Reaching for the door handle, Leon caught sight of a girl hurrying down the sidewalk. "Now who in their right mind would wear a skirt that short in this weather?" He asked himself, as the girl turned the corner. "Wait a second." Peering across the street, Leon saw a shady looking guy start walking rapidly in the direction the girl had gone. Despite being in a sleep-deprived state, Leon un-holstered his gun, and silently jogged to the corner.

He listened for foot steps, but heard none. Rounding the corner, Leon quickly looked around for the two people. They were no where in sight. The area was dark; there were no street lights. It was a perfect place to get away with rape, or even murder. Rubbing his eyes, Leon started down the sidewalk and began to look around. The cars that lined the street were empty. At the end of the road, there was a gate partially open. Tightening his jaw, Leon approached the gate and peered into the alley.

With a rush of adrenaline, Leon flew into the darkened space with his gun drawn. A frightened woman, no older than twenty lay on the floor as Leon pulled a guy off of her. He threw the attacker forcefully against the gate to the alley, which slammed shut loudly. The man muttered a few curses while rubbing his head in a daze. Before his vision cleared, the man was shoved to the ground, and Leon slapped a pair of handcuffs on him.

"You're under arrest. You have the right to remain silent, you have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford one, one with be appointed to you at no cost. Do you understand?" Leon recited, while the frightened woman slowly dragged herself to the back of the alley. The man said nothing, so Leon hoisted him from the ground and slammed him into the wall. "Answer me, you sick fuck!"

"Yeah. I understand."

Leon quickly patted the guy down, and attached the handcuffs to the fence so the guy wouldn't be able to run away. After holstering his gun, Leon made his way over to the woman he just rescued. "Hey…don't worry, you're alright now." He said, squinting to see in the dark. "Come on out of there, I'm going to call an ambulance for you, all right?" Leon continued.

"Okay." She finally replied, walking slowly back into the light. She was pretty with light brown hair. There was a line of blood underneath her nose. "Are you hurt anywhere else?" Leon asked as she inched her way towards him. The woman was too busy looking at the man on the floor to answer. Leon pulled out his badge and held it in front of her.

"My name's Leon Kennedy. I'm a detective. I'm going to call my station house and have them bring a couple of people over, and they're going to bring an ambulance to take you to the hospital, okay?" Leon said calmly. He had no idea how the woman was emotionally, and he didn't want to say anything to upset her. She nodded, and stared at the man with glossed over eyes.

Leon shrugged his coat off and offered it to the woman. "Thank you." She whispered, taking it from him with shaking hands.

"You're welcome." Leon replied with a small smile. He walked over to the guy on the floor and pressed his head down.

"Ow! What the hell are you doin'?" The guy shouted.

"Keep your eyes on the floor, got it?" Leon ordered, pulling the gate open, which caused the man to be pressed up against the wall of the alley. "Come on, man! Ease up a little!"

Ignoring the dirt bag on the floor, Leon held the gate open long enough for the young woman to walk back onto the street. "You're staying here until the guy's on night tour get here." Leon said, kneeling down to the perp's eye level. "These are the guys that can't stand rapists, wife beaters…douche bags like you. They're going to have fun when they find out what you did, and the only way to limit your beating is to confess everything as fast as that little rat mouth of yours can, you understand?"

The guy nodded and kept quiet as Leon walked the girl back towards his car. "What's your name?" Leon asked her as soon as they were out of the man's hearing distance.

"Sarah….Blackwell."

"Do you live around here, Sarah?" Leon continued. She shook her head and pulled Leon's coat around her tightly.

"I was taking a different way to the train. My friend told me it was much faster…I never would have thought…that…"

Her legs gave out and she dropped to the ground. Leon caught her before her knees crashed onto the concrete floor. "It's okay, you're safe now. You're gonna be alright." Leon said, trying to soothe her without scaring her. She was downright bawling, no longer to keep it in. Leon pulled his cell phone out and dialed his station house.

"It's alright, Sarah. I'm calling you an ambulance, and they'll take good care of you." He told her, while waiting for the desk sergeant to pick up the phone.

"Hey, this is Kennedy from upstairs…yeah, fine. Listen, I need you to send a squad car and a bus out to Broadway and Clover Road. I got a rape victim here than needs to get to the hospital…yeah, the perp too….no, I found it. Look, I'll explain to who ever you send over, just tell them to hurry it up, okay? Thanks." Leon hung up the phone, and put it in his pocket.

"Okay, Sarah. Let's walk over to my car where you can sit down okay. I've got tissues in there somewhere…I think." Leon said, helping her to stand.

"What's a bus?" Sarah asked.

"Hm?"

"You said to send a bus."

"Oh, that's just cop-talk for an ambulance. They'll be here in a few minutes, so you can rest until then."

They walked to Leon's car, where he dug around for a box of tissues. He knew Claire kept them in there in case either of them needed them. After rummaging around in the trunk, Leon found them wrapped in a picnic blanket. Glancing at his watch, Leon walked to the back seat and handed Sarah the box. "Here you go. Is there anyone you want to call?" He asked. She shook her head quickly.

"No girlfriends, siblings?" He continued.

"I'm on my own…and my friends are all sleeping. They have work in the morning." She explained.

"Well, I'd think they'd make this an exception, don't you?" Leon said, scratching his head.

"I just moved here, officer. I don't want to put any one out of there way. Oh God…I feel sick."

Leon took a few steps back. "Just keep your head down. The paramedics'll be here any minute." He said, putting his hand on her shoulder.

"If you don't mind my asking…what are you doing out at this hour? Did you just get out of work?" Sarah asked as she stared at the curb.

"No, I actually got off several hours ago. I was visiting a friend at the hospital and was heading home." Leon replied, shifting his gaze to the street where he saw flashing lights.

"Oh. I guess I was just lucky then." Sarah said before noticing that the ambulance had arrived.

"You stay here, I'll be right back." Leon said, as he walked over to the police car that had just pulled over. "Hey, thanks for coming guys." He greeted.

"No problem. So word is you walked in on a rape?" One of the officers questioned.

"Yeah. I saw this woman, Sarah…Blackwell I think, and some guy started following her. So I went after them and that was that."

A female officer took notes in the large notepad all cops carried around before going over to the victim. "So…you hear from Redfield yet?" The other officer asked.

"No. I gotta get home and check my messages in case he called me." Leon replied before turning to go back to his car.

"Well in any case, I hope everything works out." The officer continued.

"Yeah, thanks." Leon replied, waving his hand.

The female officer was squatting in front of Sarah, who was still hunched over. "How's she doing?" Leon asked.

"I feel sick." Sarah replied.

"Come on Sarah, I'll help you over to the ambulance and we'll get you to the hospital. You'll feel better soon, I promise." The woman continued. Leon recognized her from around the station house, but couldn't remember her name.

Sarah slowly started to stand up. She took the officer's hand and slowly started towards the awaiting ambulance. "Oh, Officer Kennedy. Your coat." She said, shrugging the heavy coat off. Leon walked over and took it from her.

"You got blankets in there?" He asked one of the paramedics. They nodded and pulled a warm looking thing from a shelf. "Alright Sarah, you feel better okay? I'll come and visit you tomorrow if I can." Leon said. He wished he could promise, but things were too complicated for promises.

"Thank you…for everything." Sarah said tearfully, before the doors were slammed shut and she was driven away.

"Lucky for her, I guess." The female officer complimented, tipping her hat. Leon stole a glance at her name tag. _Cheza_

"Yeah. I gotta get home. It feels like I haven't slept in days."

"I can't blame you for that. My partner can be an ass sometimes, but I'd probably go crazy if he up and disappeared." She replied.

Leon sighed. "Yeah…thanks for coming down. See you at the house."

END


	4. Intimidation

_"Right side of the dream, left side of the truth.__ Show me the way."- Hyde, Love Flies_

After pressing the play button on his answering machine, Leon collapsed onto his bed. His eyelids began to close rapidly as a voice on the machine whispered, "Leon…it's me…I'm okay." Unable to stay awake any longer Leon mumbled Chris' name and then fell into a deep sleep.

Despite being asleep for several hours, Leon felt just as tired as the night before. He awoke to a ringing phone and struggled to make it over to the desk beside his bed. His hand latched onto the black plastic object and he answered the call. "Yeah?" He mumbled into the phone.

"Hey, it's me." Claire greeted.

"Hey." Leon grunted, barely roused.

"You don't seem all that happy to hear from me."

"What time is it?" Leon asked, ignoring Claire's comment.

"A little after ten. Aren't you supposed to be at work?" Claire asked.

"Shit." He spat, willing himself to sit up at least. "What's up?"

"Nothing. I was going to Sunrise to let them know what happened, but I figured that I should call you first." Sunrise was the agency that both Claire and Jill associated with. They had both done a little bit of modeling; Jill being the more successful of the two.

"Oh. Thanks. I should take a shower to wake myself up before work. I'll call you later, okay?"

"Sure. Love you."

Leon hung up the phone and tossed it onto the bed. Rubbing his face, he stood up and walked to the bathroom.

Not one hour later, Claire was in the Sunrise building, dressed fashionably in a white blouse, shin length brown skirt and black leather heeled shoes. They clacked against the marble floor as she made her way to the second floor offices. Claire wasn't as well-known as she would have liked there. Most people didn't recognize her as a model yet. Jill, on the other hand, everyone knew. Her simple beauty and grace made her quite popular.

Claire marched into the room where the agents were. There were six desks in the room, each with a person chirping on the phone. Walking over to the last desk on the left, Claire sat in a chair. She smiled at the blond woman behind the desk who was on the phone with a potential client. "Great, so tomorrow at three? Excellent. I look forward to meeting you. Bye bye!" She hung up the phone with a loud clack, and made a few notes before looking at Claire with a smile.

"Don't we look gorgeous!" She commented, reaching into a bowl of MM's on her desk.

"Thank you, Stacy." Claire replied. She did try to doll herself up that day. She was glad to see it was paying off.

"So what brings you down? You didn't have an appointment, right?" Stacy Keebler questioned, her jaw moving in a clockwise motion as she crunched some candy.

"Oh, no. Actually, I came by to tell you some rather disturbing news." Claire replied, tossing some of her hair behind her shoulder.

Stacy paused, then picked up a pencil. "Have you found another agency?" She asked, pointing the pencil at Claire.

"No, nothing like that. Actually, it's in reference to Jill Valentine." Claire replied.

"Has Jill found another agency?" Stacy gasped. The woman was kind of an air-head.

"No." Claire said, slightly annoyed. "She's in the hospital."

Covering her mouth, Stacy made a noise. "What happened? Is she alright?"

"We don't know. She was shot…in the head. She's in a coma." Claire informed her.

"Oh good Lord! How'd she get shot? Was she in the ghetto?"

"No one knows why she was shot yet…but I thought you guys should know, that way you could replace her for any gigs that she had." Shaking her head, Stacy opened a program on her computer.

"This is such a tragedy. A pretty young thing shot in the head, and for what? Such a shame." She muttered to herself. "Well…she has a job next week for a magazine ad. Should we reschedule?" Stacy asked, turning to Claire.

"The doctors aren't sure if Jill will make a meaningful recovery. She may never even come out of this coma. Maybe it would be best if we replaced her for now."

Claire nodded sympathetically while Stacy turned back to her monitor. "Well, let's see who was in charge of the photo shoot…oh, great. He's in the building now, so I'm going to go find him and let him know the news." Stacy hopped up from her chair and hurried out of the room. Claire followed behind her, eager to meet another photographer.

"You didn't have to come with me, Claire." Stacy chirped, pressing the call button at the elevator.

"Oh, that's alright. I'm always eager to meet new photographers. What kind of ad was this, exactly?" Claire replied.

"Some kind of skin care product I think. Jill had been using it to give the ad some authenticity." Stacy replied as the elevator doors opened.

"Well…I don't have any appointments next week. Maybe I could take Jill's place." Claire said coyly.

"Oh, I don't know about that. We'll have to see what Bill thinks. Jill was hand-picked after all."

Claire bit her tongue. She was jealous of Jill's success, and while heartbreaking, this accident was a chance for Claire to catch up with her friend. The duo made their way to the auditorium where many of the photo shoots were held. "Don't distract any of the photographers while they're working." Stacy instructed, as they made their way to the mysterious "Bill".

After locating him, Claire and Stacy waited until he was taking a break to talk with him. "Bill, darling!" Stacy exclaimed, throwing her hands up.

"Stacy, what are you doing down here?" Bill asked, less thrilled that she was.

"I have _terrible_ news. Jill Valentine has been _shot_." Stacy said dramatically. Claire wondered if the woman wanted to be an actress.

"Oh, no. That's awful. Is she alright?" Bill seemed crestfallen.

Stacy nodded. "She's alive, but comatose. The doctors don't know if she'll recover…it's so tragic."

"Wow. Thanks for letting me know about it. I was really looking forward to working with her next week. She's such a bright person." Bill replied with a sigh.

"Well, actually, it was her friend Claire that came in to let us know. Claire's a model for us too." Stacy remarked.

Claire smiled brightly when Bill looked over at her. "I thought you should know about Jill's situation, that way you can find a replacement for the ad." She said, walking over to the two of them.

"Is that so? Well that was very kind of you." Bill replied. There was an awkward silence for awhile. _What do I have to do? Beat him over the head? Let me do the damn ad. _Claire stuck her lower lip out, a habit she had when things weren't going her way.

"You know, I'm free next week and as a close friend of Jill's, I would be honored to take her place." She blurted without sounding too desperate. Bill looked thoughtful.

"Yeah…I guess that wouldn't be a problem. Actually, why don't you come over tomorrow, instead of next week. I had a cancellation and would like to get things done as soon as possible." He answered finally. Claire grinned and sighed. Victory.

"That's perfect. Just give me the information and I'll get out of your hair." She said cheerfully.

While Bill scribbled some notes on a piece of paper, Claire looked around the auditorium. It really wasn't an auditorium per say. There were no chairs and the stage was used to store lights and backdrops. There were big windows that allowed the light to come in, so there wasn't much need for artificial lighting. Claire's eyes drifted to a man leaning against the wall to her left. He had his hands in his pockets and wore a pin striped suit. His Asian eyes met with Claire's.

She suddenly felt very intimidated, like she was being judged, so she quickly looked away. "Alright, that's everything you need to know. Try and buy some of that lotion so you at least know how it works, 'kay?" Bill said, motioning to the product information.

"Sure, I will. See you tomorrow." Claire quickly walked out of the room, no longer interested in staying by Stacy's side. It seemed like things were finally going to start picking up.

END

Question. If I were to include a sex scene in the coming chapters, would you like it to be a) graphic b) slight imagery or c) pretty much ignored. Please let me know if your reviews.


	5. Hope

_"Just as the flower stretching to reach the sky, just as the traveler who crosses the sea,  
you're always being lead to where love calls you." Shindou Haruichi, Ai ga yobu hou e_

Leon stood in Jill Valentine's apartment, feeling guilty for what he was about to do. As a detective, he had to snoop in her personal things for any information as to why she was shot and why Chris disappeared. "Detective? Shall we get started?" A fellow officer questioned, snapping on a pair of latex gloves.

"Yeah…listen, she's a friend of mine so try to…be respectful upon your findings, okay?" Leon stumbled. He wasn't exactly sure what they were going to find, but he didn't want anything embarrassing coming up.

"No problem. I'll start in the kitchen." The younger man said, walking past Leon, who was heading towards the bedroom. Things were neat and in order, her bed wasn't made though. He walked over to her dresser and pulled the first drawer open. _Personal stuff…please forgive me Jill._ Biting his lower lip, Leon quickly felt around in the drawer. His hands roamed over underwear and bras until he felt something hard. Holding his breath, he pulled it out.

"Oh thank God." He sighed, realizing that it was a gun. It was the one issued to her when she joined S.T.A.R.S. He returned the weapon into the drawer and closed it. He rustled through the other drawers and found nothing.

"Hey Jones, find anything?" He shouted, glancing around the room again before going towards the kitchen.

"Not much. Clean dishes, fresh food in the fridge…nothing abnormal at all." Jones replied, sounding kind of disappointed.

Nodding, Leon went into the living room. He checked the answering machine for messages. "There are no new messages." A robotic voice told him. There was a note pad and a pen beside the phone. Picking it up, Leon inspected it. It looked as if the top piece of paper had been torn off. Turning on a lamp, Leon tilted the note pad towards the light. "Jones, you got a pencil?" He asked, seeing slight impressions on the paper.

"Uh…no but there's one on the chair next to you." Jones replied.

Spinning around, Leon grabbed the pencil and began to lightly mark the note paper. "What is it, detective?" Jones asked, stepping closer to try to get a better look.

"A partial address…and phone number." Leon said triumphantly.

"That's good…I guess. Where is the place?"

"Ajo, Arizona. Who the hell's in Arizona?"

"Is there anything else on there?"

Leon sighed and ran his hand through his hair. "Ok…okay, let's get back to the station house. We're gonna find out where this is, and hopefully that will lead us to Chris." He muttered, sticking the paper in his pocket and heading for the door.

"But Kennedy, shouldn't we finish looking around here? I mean what if that was the address for some infomercial or something?" Jones questioned.

"You can stick around, I gotta get back to the house." Leon answered.

When he arrived back at the station house, Claire was waiting for him. "Hey sweetie, what's up?" He greeted, kissing her briefly.

"You will never guess what happened today!" Claire gushed, following Leon into the coffee room.

"Well, what happened?" Leon asked, pulling his coat off and tossing it over a chair.

"Okay, I went over to Sunrise to let them know about Jill, right? And I went with Stacy, my agent, to talk to the photographer who was supposed to be working with Jill next week for a magazine ad. Well, guess what!"

Leon shrugged. "I don't know, what?" He asked.

"What kind of detective are you? Anyway, he's letting _me_ take her place! This guy is a big-shot photographer too. If I make an impression on him, imagine where this will take me!" Claire exclaimed, barely able to keep her excitement in.

"Oh. Wow, that's really great. I'm sure Jill would be happy for you." Leon said, giving her a hug. "I don't mean to shoo you away but I have to get some work done. We have some info that we need to look at."

Claire nodded and smiled. "Sure, I'll get out of your hair. Call me if you find out anything about Chris, you got it?" She said gleefully. Leon nodded and waved as she skipped out of the office area.

"She seems happy." Leah Rosa remarked as Leon sat at his desk.

"Yeah. Her modeling career is finally starting to shape up." He replied.

"That's great. So did you find anything at the victim's house?" Leah continued.

Leon pulled the paper from his pocket and handed it to her. "It's a partial address and phone number. You ever been to Arizona?" He questioned.

"Nope. 'Ranchero Grill'? Is that a restaurant or something?"

"Maybe. I'm hoping we can get the rest of the number, and call this place up to see if they've seen Chris." Leon replied

"Well I sure hope we find him soon. This place is gonna fall apart without him."

Leon's face fell slightly. "What's that supposed to mean? Everyone pulls their own weight around here, we all make this a great squad." He said, quite defensivly. Leah held up her hands.

"You know what I mean, Leon. Chris is just…the heart of this place. It feels so wrong without him here." She replied.

"That's why I'm gonna work my hardest to find him."

Not longer after his conversation with Leah, Leon reported to his boss and began to work on completing the number. As it would turn out, someone that worked in the same building had a brother in Arizona, so he was currently getting information on the "Ranchero Grill". Leon sat at his desk, zoning out and feeling depressed. His partner and best friend was missing. He was slightly disturbed by Claire's lack of compassion for Jill. There was a bit of competition between the two when they first decided to start modeling.

Jill was in the hospital, near death, and Claire seemed more interested in working. A ringing phone shocked him out of his daze, and he hastily picked it up. "Hello, 90th precinct…" He greeted.

"Hey, is Kennedy there?" A gruff male voice questioned.

"Speaking."

"Oh, hey, this is Horowitz from anti-crime. Listen, my brother got back to me about that Ranchero thing. He called a few people down in Ajo and they got all the information for you."

"Great, thanks a lot. I'll come up and get it from you."

"Alright, see you."

Leon jumped up from his desk and headed towards the stairs, blinded by the possibility that he might be able to locate Chris. He jogged up the stairs to the offices on the next floor. As a man approached him, Leon extended his arm and a finger. "Horowitz?" He asked.

"That's me. Here's the info." The man replied, handing it over.

"You'll be the man of the hour if this is where Chris is."

"Ha ha, it'd be nice to get some respect around here…but most importantly, we want our guy back. You goin' to look for him?"

"Yeah. Hey, man thanks a lot. I owe you." Leon shook his hand and returned to the detective offices.

Leon sped into his boss' officer to alert him of the news. "Boss?" He questioned, knocking on the open door. Mark Houston looked up from his paper work.

"What's up, Kennedy?" He asked.

"Horowitz from anti-crime got some information off a partial address we uncovered from the victim's house. It's for a place down in Arizona, a restaurant. We're thinking that Jill might have brought that address to Chris, and that he's on his way there." Leon explained.

Houston nodded. "Alright. I'll take it that you'll be making the trip down there."

"You bet." Leon replied with a grin.

"You know how to get there…which county is it?"

"Ajo. Yeah, I'll take I-5 through California…and according to Horowitz's info, jump onto I-8 from there and take route eighty-five right on in."

"You're in for a helluva drive."

"I'll fill up here. Who knows what gas prices are down south."

"Leon, you better keep in touch with us, ya hear? I can't have two officers go missing…two of my finest." Houston warned. Leon smiled.

"I'll give you a call after I'm on my way." He assured him. Leah glanced at Leon as he fell into his chair with relief.

"Something come up?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I'm going on vacation!" He replied, turning off his desk lamp.

"I hardly think vacation is appropriate when your partner is missing."

Leon jumped up and pulled his over coat on. "Well, it is if you're going to find him while vacationing. I was kidding about that, anyway. Since Chris might be down in Ajo, I'm going to go down there and look for him. I can find the guy who owns this grill place to see if he's seen him around. There's gotta be something down there. Anyway, keep this place in order, would ya?" He babbled, putting files away and straightening his desk out.

"Sure, I'll hold the fort down. Be careful, will you Kennedy?" Leah replied.

"Of course. Take care!"

END


	6. Envy

_"I always see you in my dreams as usual in a labyrinth, flapping transparent wings. These tortured eyes search for you, wandering a momentary dream." Hyde, Sell My Soul_

The sky was dull and gray when Claire returned to her apartment. She had stopped by the drug store to find the product she'd be advertising. As she pulled off her coat, she frowned. Things were always so quiet in her place. Tossing her coat aside, she went into her small living room and turned the television on. Grabbing the bag from the drug store, she went into the bathroom and listened to the news.

"Wash face, dry completely and apply product liberally for healthy, radiant skin." Claire read the directions out loud, then turned the water on.

_"And in other news, a local model has been shot. Sources at the __Sunrise__ Modeling agency claim that Jill Valentine, a popular up-and-coming model, was shot yesterday and is currently in a coma. Police are still investigating at this time, and are unsure of who committed this heinous crime…"_

Claire stopped washing her face and ran into the living room. There was a picture of Jill to the left of the reporter's head.

_"The agency is devastated about this incident and hope that the police soon find the person or persons responsible for this crime. Anyone with information can call—"_

Angrily, Claire shut off the t.v. and stormed back into the bathroom. "Unbelievable!" She exclaimed, toweling off her face. _I bet Stacy opened her big mouth and called the press. How is that really a news story? People get shot all the time! Even in a coma, Jill is still in the spot light._

The phone ringing interrupted Claire's selfish thoughts. Throwing the towel onto the sink, she went into her bedroom and picked up the phone.

"Hello?" She greeted curtly.

"Hey, it's me. You gonna be around for awhile?" It was Leon.

"Yeah, why?"

"I'm stopping by in about fifteen minutes okay. Order some Chinese food and we'll have lunch."

"I'm not that hungry…what's this about? You sound rushed."

"Just order the food. I'm driving, so I have to go. I'll be there soon. Bye." Leon explained before hanging up. Claire sighed deeply before going into the kitchen to look for a menu.

Leon arrived about twenty minutes later, and let himself in without knocking. He greeted Claire with a kiss before flopping onto her couch. "Are you going to tell me what's up now? You seem like you're in a big hurry." She said, sitting next to him.

"Yeah. Well, I was at Jill's apartment today and got some information about where Chris might be. There was an indentation in a notepad with the address of a restaurant in Ajo, Arizona. I think Chris might be going down there." Leon explained.

"O…kay. And?" Claire replied.

"Well, it seems only logical that I go down there and try to find him." Leon concluded.

"What! Now _you're_ leaving?" Claire exclaimed. At that point the door bell rang. In a huff, Claire went over and opened it. She took the food from the guy and tossed a twenty at him. "Keep the change." She sighed before closing the door again. Leon walked over to the dining table and put his hand on Claire's arm.

"Look, I could send other officers down there, or even call up the local sheriff…but then I wouldn't be doing my duty as his friend and partner. Would _you_ feel satisfied if anyone but me was looking for him?" He asked. Claire went into the kitchen and got plates and silverware.

"Well, no…but all the way to Nevada?"

"Arizona." Leon corrected. "Look, it's not that far. It's gonna take a few days at most to get down there. As soon as I find Chris, we'll come back home. And I'm gonna call you like every day. Don't be mad."

Claire covered her face and sat down beside Leon. "I'm not mad…just upset. What am I gonna do without you here? You're gone, Chris' gone, Jill's in a fucking coma…I'm all alone." She cried.

"Hey…you're not alone." Leon said, wrapping his arms around her. "You remember Leah from work? I'll have her check in on you, okay? Just keep your cute self busy with work and what not and I'll be back before you know it."

Nodding, Claire wiped her eyes and sniffled. "Now let's eat before this food gets cold. The sooner I leave, the sooner I can come back." Leon said, and he began to pull cartons out of the bag.

The two shared a solemn meal before Leon had to get going. Rain began to fall as Claire watched Leon make his way to the car from her window. The only gig she had was the next day, and that was it. How was she supposed to keep herself busy for days?

Several hours later, as Claire was preparing for bed, the phone rang. "Hello?" She answered, turning of the bathroom light and climbing into bed.

"Hey you. Getting ready for bed?" Leon greeted.

"Yeah. Where are you?"

"Somewhere in California. At least the weather is warmer down here. How are you doing?"

"I'm alright. I just watched t.v. for a few hours. It's very boring with no one around."

"Aw, I'm sorry baby. What time are you getting up tomorrow?"

Claire pulled her alarm clock onto her lap and started to set the alarm. "Around eight. How about you?" She replied.

"Depends whether or not I check into a motel. I'll give you a call at around eight thirty, ok?" Leon said.

"Sure. Drive safe, okay? If you feel tired, pull into a rest area."

"You got it. I'll talk to you in the morning, kay? Love you."

"Love you too. Bye."

"Bye sweetie."

After speaking with Leon the following morning, Claire got into her compact car and drove down to the Sunrise building. She half expected the place to be swarming with reporters, eager to cover the story of Jill's attack. The courtyard was empty for the most part, so Claire strode into the building. She made her way to the photo suit and looked around for Bill. "Ah!" She spotted him fiddling with his camera while a crew set up the back drop. "Good Morning!" She greeted cheerily.

Bill looked up from what he was doing and smiled.

"Morning. Are you early?" He questioned. Claire glanced at her watch. It was a little before nine.

"Sort of. Is there anything I can help you with?"

"Nah, we're pretty much set."

"Alright, well I guess I'll go get a cup of coffee. Would you like anything?" Claire questioned, pulling her coat off and draping it over a chair.

"Sure. I'll take a cup of coffee. Black, two sugars." Bill replied, taking a test shot with the camera.

"You got it. I'll be back in a few." Claire replied, before hurrying away. She always tried to go above and beyond her responsibilities when working with photographers. That way, whenever her name would come up, they would have nothing but nice things to say. In the building, there was a small office set up with a coffee machine, and snack foods on a folding table.

It was the biggest temptation for all the models to sneak in a donut or two, but most of them had enough self control. "I ought to bring in a fruit basket or something healthy for this place." Claire mumbled to herself, glaring at a delicious looking donuts. She poured the hot coffee into two paper cups, filling hers with a lot of creamer and Splenda. Tearing open two packets of sugar, she poured them into Bill's cup and stirred them both.

On her way out the door, the nearly bumped into someone. Looking up to apologize, Claire gasped inwardly. It was the same Asian guy from the day before, the one who was staring her down. "Uh, excuse me." Claire said finally, hoping that he would move out of the way. He just stared at her face for a moment, looking thoughtful before stepping to the side. Huffing, Claire brushed past him and made her way back to the photo suite.

"Here you go." She said, handing Bill his cup of coffee. "Careful, it's hot."

"Ah, thank you. Are you ready to go?" He replied.

"Yep. I didn't put any make-up on 'cause I wasn't sure what you wanted to do with me."

"That's fine. You've got great skin so I don't think there's anything to worry about."

"Oh, thank you! That's so sweet of you to say. Bill, can I ask you something?"

"Shoot."

"Have you noticed anyone new around here lately? There's this weird Asian guy who keeps on staring at me…do you know who he is?"

Bill seemed shocked. "Kaz? He's a really famous photographer from Japan. He's basically here to scout for any models he could use…but his standards are phenomenally high. He's taken an interest in you?" He questioned.

"I…guess. He just keeps on staring at me whenever we cross paths. I thought he was just some creepy guy that wandered in here." Claire replied, blushing slightly.

"No, he's just the quiet type. I think his way of thinking is 'Don't talk unless you have something to say that's worth hearing.'"

Claire nodded. "Alright, then. So, what do you need me to do?" Bill rubbed his stubble-covered chin and let out a throaty noise.

"Behind that screen is the clothes you'll be wearing. Put them on, and I'll get Maria to do your make-up. Just some clear mascara and eye shadow to bring out your eyes a bit." He said finally.

"Is the ad color or black and white?" Claire asked as she started towards the big folding screen.

"Color. People are gonna remember you as Old Blue Eyes from now on." Bill replied with a chuckle.

"Young Blue Eyes." Claire corrected with a smile.

The shoot went pretty well. There wasn't much Claire had to do really, just smile at the camera, look happy. While Claire posed, she thought of Jill. She imagined her laying in her hospital bed in a coma, while Claire took her job. A pang of guilt rushed into Claire's heart as she leaned on a displaced fake sink. When Jill finally woke up, how would she feel knowing that Claire stole her modeling jobs without a second thought?

"Happy, happy."

Claire forced a smile and tried not to think about Jill anymore. After the shoot was finished, Claire changed back into her regular clothes and thanked Bill for the opportunity to work together. He complimented her professionalism and started packing up his gear.

Before heading home, Claire went to the model's bathroom to empty her bladder. As usual, there was around four women in there, fixing their make-up and hair. "Why hasn't he talked to me yet?" One of them moaned.

"Eva, relax. He's not leaving tomorrow or anything. Just keep doing your best and he's bound to notice sooner or later." Another replied.

"What if he doesn't like any of us? He's like…mega-popular, isn't he?" A third girl said.

"I heard that once, he picked a girl out of a crowd, and she's making millions now. He's like a model God."

Claire could hardly differentiate between their voices, but she had a feeling they were talking about this Kaz guy.

"My career is less than satisfactory. The agents here aren't capable of getting us anything beyond stupid magazine ads."

"Yeah. What are we so beautiful for?"

"At least none of us was in that herpes ad! Wasn't that so embarrassing?"

"Oh, I know! I would have totally cried if that happened to me. Kaz doesn't work for low companies like that though."

"I heard that he's going to be doing a cigarette campaign soon and he needs someone gorgeous. I've never smoked before, but I'm going to stand outside smoking until he leaves."

"My friend smokes to help her stay skinny."

"I want to start smoking…"

Claire shook her head in disbelief and flushed the toilet. _Some people are real morons. _She opened the stall door and went over to the sink. "Were you talking about that photographer from Japan?" She asked as she started washing her hands.

"Yes. He's so unbelievably gorgeous. I've caught him looking at me once, and he just oozes sex!" The blonde to Claire's right replied.

"At least he's looked at you! My boobs are practically spilling out of my shirt and he just walks on by like I'm trash." The strawberry-blonde to Claire's left added.

"Oh, don't say that. I'm sure he's just picky." Claire replied, inwardly smiling. "When is this ad campaign starting?"

"In a few days. He really needs someone but it's like he's just standing around doing nothing but being eye candy." The first blonde answered. Shaking off her hands, Claire reached for a paper towel.

"I'm sure he'll show an interest in someone soon. It was nice talking with you ladies." She said cheerfully before striding out of the bathroom.

END


	7. Betrayal

_"The scenery blowing by like it's rolling forward. Even if things start looking desperate, I won't lose sight of the target." Hyde, Ready Steady Go_

As Leon drove through the south of California, his thoughts were filled with the Redfield siblings. He had talked to Claire earlier that morning. She was fine, and on her way to work. Chris had called the other night, but didn't leave a message or anything. Leon supposed that Chris was just calling to let him know that he was alright. The evening air had a slight chill, so Leon rolled his window up and turned off the radio.

Pulling his cell phone out of his pocket, he dialed Chris' number. It went straight to his voicemail.

"Hey, this is Chris. Leave a message if it's important."

_I miss that voice._ Leon thought sadly, as unmanly as it sounded.

"Chris, man…it's me. Listen, I don't know where you are, but I'm gonna find you. Claire's really worried about you. And I don't know if you know, but Jill's alive. She survived somehow..I think the bullet didn't get through her skull or something. She's in a coma, but she's alive. Listen, I know you're hiding and there's a lot going on with you, but if you can just –" beeeeeep

Leon muttered a curse and tossed his phone onto the seat next to him. _Since when does his voicemail limit the message length?_ Being alone for so long made Leon nervous, so he grabbed his phone again and called Claire's apartment. It rang a few times before the answering machine picked up. He hung up with out leaving a message and decided to call her cell phone when he reached a rest area.

Before leaving the building, Claire decided to thank Bill one last time. The sun had begun to set, making the photo suite area glow a bright orange. Not surprisingly, many photographers were taking advantage of the lighting. Claire spotted one group at one of the large windows taking a photo of a model and the sunset.

Claire saw Bill at the exit on the other side of the suite. He was lugging a big bag of things through the door, so Claire jogged over to give him a hand. "Hey, Claire. I thought you left already." He remarked as she pushed the door open so he could get through.

"Nope, not yet. Isn't that bag heavy? Why don't you take the elevator?" She replied.

"Yeah, it's heavy. I find that all too often I'm riding my way up from floor to floor. It's not healthy to take the easy route, you know?"

"Yeah, I know. It's so easy to just not care about things like that, but they really start to add up. I was so tempted by those donuts in the lounge but I know that if I have one, I'll keep cheating and start gaining weight." Claire replied, helping Bill down the stairs with his bag.

"Well…I guess you know your eating habits more than any one else. But it's not good to restrain yourself so much, don't you think?"

"I guess. Occasionally, I'll have something sweet without worrying too much. But once you take that first piece of cake, and don't notice a weight difference, then you tend to slack off more and more."

"You sound like some kind of pro at this." Bill remarked as they arrived at the ground floor.

"When I first got into modeling, I had to lose about fifteen pounds or so, and I was a junk food fanatic. It was really hard going through the sugar withdrawal and everything. If I gave that all up for a stupid piece of cake, I'd be devastated. Plus I'd have to do it all over again." Claire replied. "Is your car far?"

"I can make it, don't worry. You going home now?" Bill questioned.

"I'm gonna get some water before heading home. Back up the stairs for me. Take care, Bill. Thanks so much for everything."

Claire made her way up the flights of stairs, satisfied with the day's occurrences. When she reached the final flight of stairs, she started to smell cigarettes. Glancing up at the top landing, she saw none other that Mr. Hot Shot Japanese Photographer. _Alright, I'm gonna find out his deal once and for all_. Claire marched up the final steps and stood in front of the smoking man.

"Excuse me, sir but I happened to notice that you've been looking at me lately. Can I help you with anything?" She questioned.

"No." He replied arrogantly.

"No?" Claire repeated. "I heard some women talking about you. You're name is Kaz, right?"

"Kazuya, yes."

"The hot-shot photographer from Japan who's here to find a model for some cigarette campaign?"

He nodded and took a drag from his cigarette. "I told the photographer I worked with today about how you're always staring at me. He said that I 'caught your interest'. Is that true?" Claire continued, not liking how he was practically ignoring her.

"Maybe." Kaz answered, flicking some ashes onto the floor.

"Alright, then. Are you interested in using me as a model, or what?"

"No. I would never use you as model." He took the final drag off of his cigarette and blew the smoke to the side.

"And why is that?" Claire replied, feeling slightly hurt. Kaz dropped his cigarette to the floor and stepped on it before reaching over and pulling Claire's cheeks.

"Your face is too fat." He answered with a very slight smile. Claire's mouth dropped, and quite involuntarily, she swung her hand up and slapped the man in the face.

"Oh my God, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to…I just…" What was she supposed to say? The other models revered this man as a God, and he just insulted her.

Kaz let go of Claire's cheeks, and leaned forward, planting a kiss on her lips lightly. She shivered as he pulled away, scared and unsure of what she should to. Her mouth felt dry, and she just stood there with her mouth open. Her cell phone began to ring, and her hand slowly wandered into her coat pocket to retrieve it.

"Are you free tomorrow night?" Kaz asked slowly. Claire could only nod. "Come by…around eight. No make-up." He lifted his hand and waved slightly, before pulling the door open and walking back into the suite.

Finally Claire looked down at her phone. It was Leon calling. She pressed the answer button and held the phone to her ear. "Hello?" She whispered.

"Hey, it's Leon. I called you at home, but you weren't there so I figured I'd try your cell."

"Oh…yeah."

"What's wrong? Are you still at work?"

"Yeah. I'm about to leave." Claire said, finally starting to relax.

"Oh, okay. I'm at a rest stop now getting some food. I think I'm nearing Arizona, so I'm almost there."

"That's great. Have you heard from my brother yet?"

"No. I left him another voicemail. I'm hoping he'll call someone back soon." Leon replied, making chewing noises.

"What are you eating for dinner?" Claire asked, pulling open the door to the suite and taking a step in.

"Just a burger and fries. Nothing special."

"Oh. Yeah, I'll probably just make a salad or something when I get home."

"Ya gotta eat more than that hon'."

Claire cautiously made her way through the suite, her eyes darting around looking for the man who dared to kiss her. Although, it was the first time in a long while that she got shivers from a mere kiss. _Oh God, what am I thinking? I'm with __Leon__! This guy can't just barge into my life…he is good looking, though…_

"Claire? Hello? Are you there?" Leon questioned.

"Yeah, I'm here. I think we lost the connection for a minute." Claire lied.

"Oh, sorry. I said you should eat more than a salad."

"Yeah…I'm not all that hungry. I'm going to get some fresh fruit on the way home I think. There was a box of donuts at work today. And they had _sprinkles_."

"Oh no. You love those sprinkles."

Chuckling, Claire made her way to the elevator, forgetting about the water she was supposed to be getting.

"So, how was work?" Leon asked. _Oh, fine. I kissed a guy that wants to work with me. Apparently, he's a sex-pot._

"Fine. The shoot went well." She answered.

"That's good. Any idea when the ad is gonna show up?"

"Well, we'll get a draft in a few days, and then it's up to the company to decide when they're going to run it."

"Ah. Alright, well, let me finish eating and hit the road. I'll probably stay at a motel tonight and get some rest. Hopefully I'll be at Ajo before tomorrow night." Leon said.

"Okay. I don't want you falling asleep while you're driving, so don't push yourself okay?" Claire replied, turning from the elevator and heading towards the lounge.

"Alright. Call me before you go to bed, okay?"

"Sure. Love you."

"Love you too. Bye!"

"Bye, Leon."

Claire hung up the phone and slid it into her pocket. Turning into the lounge, she made her way to the water cooler and poured herself a cup. With a sigh, she gulped it down. Tossing the paper cup in the trash, she rubbed her eyes. _Things certainly have gotten complicated since Jill got shot…speaking of Jill, I haven't gone to visit her. I hope she'll forgive me for being such a bad friend._

When she finally uncovered her eyes, Kazuya was waiting in the doorway. _Damn, how does he always manage to find me!_

"You okay?" He questioned slowly, cocking a black eyebrow at her.

"Fine." She replied curtly. "I have to get home." She brushed past him and hurried down the hallway.

"I apologize." He called after her. She stopped walking and turned her head slightly.

"Excuse me?" She asked.

"For making you uncomfortable." He replied, tilting his head to the side. _It's almost like he's toying with me, waiting to see how I'll react so he can try to kiss me again! Sneaky bastard._

"I accept your apology. In case you were wondering, that was my boyfriend who called. He's away for work…he's a cop." Claire babbled.

He leaned forward, expecting something else. "Great." He said finally.

"Yes…he _is_ great. Well, I will see you tomorrow. Goodbye." Claire spun around and practically ran to the elevators. Her cheeks felt warm, and her heart was racing.

_Why am I reacting this way? This guy means nothing to me! How dare he control my emotions like I'm a doll or something. Just as long as I can remain strong, he won't get to me any more. But I sort of like this…game he's playing with me. Does he actually like me? How could he…he said my face was fat and that he'd never use me as a model. Then why the hell did he kiss me!_

Frantically, Claire pushed the elevator call button as she heard approaching footsteps. _What now, is he going to propose? _Taking a deep breath, she tried to calm down. She hadn't been this nervous with a man since she and Leon first hooked up. She could tell he was right behind her now. She pretended not to notice that he was behind her, and just continued to press the elevator button.

When she felt his hands on her sides, she jumped and her body stiffened. "What…what do you think you're doing?" She whispered as he drew his face close to her neck.

"Kami ni, hada ni ima mo furete itakute namida nureta hitomi koe ni, yubi ni egao omou no wa…aa. Anata no koto bakari…" "I have no idea what that means." Claire said weakly, unable to pull away from him. His lips kissed her neck softly. She let out a soft moan unexpectedly and her left hand wandered up and her fingers began to entwine themselves in his hair. His lips moved up her neck right below her ear, and Claire was practically being held up by his arms. The ding of the elevator finally snapped Claire out of the trance she was in and she pulled away from him, feeling slightly woozy. "I ah…have to go…home.." She said before stumbling into the elevator."Sayounara." He said with a wave. END 

Translation: I want to touch your hair, your skin, right now. Eyes wet by tears. I think of only you, your voice, your fingers, your smile.


	8. Temptation

_"Miracles you'd seen in dreams aren't coming but the distant sky will lead you to them."- Hyde, Neo Universe_

Waves of guilt washed over Claire as she drove towards the hospital Jill was in. She really had no one else to talk to about the situation she was in. Should she tell Leon? He would probably lose his cool and want to beat Kazuya up then have him arrested for sexual harassment. That would put an end to Claire's modeling career really fast. Snow began to fall from the sky as she pulled into a parking space at the hospital.

Before long, she had made it up to Jill's room. She looked the same, except the bandage on her head was fresh. "Hi, Jill. It's me." Claire greeted, sitting on the chair next to the bed. "I don't know if you can hear me, but I have no one else to talk to. There's this really gorgeous guy who's been at Sunrise lately…and he's been affectionate towards me. At first he was just a total asshole, but then he kissed me. And just now he started kissing my neck and I don't know what would have happened if the elevator hadn't shown up and snapped me back into reality!"

Taking a breath, Claire looked at Jill's face for any change. "Well, I don't think I'm going to tell Leon about this. He'd just get upset and probably want to hurt the guy. The thing is, I'm a bit hesitant because this guy is really famous and I so desperately want to have a good career. That's not to say that I'm…offended by his behavior. I'm just…so unsure of what to do. I wish you were awake so that you could give me some advice…or if you knew him. He would probably have chose you over me anyway. That's how it always is…" With a sigh, she stood up and left the hospital as quickly as she had entered it.

When she got home, she changed into her pajamas and prepared a salad for herself. Her apartment was eerily silent as she sprinkled some shredded cheese over the pile of greens. With a sigh, she brought her bowl and a glass of water into the living room and turned on the television. Every now and then, she'd look outside to see if the snow was still falling. After watching a creepy Robert DiNero in "Cape Fear", she tossed her dishes in the sink and went to her bedroom.

Picking up the phone, Claire dialed in the number for Leon's cell phone. He picked up after a few rings. "Hey sweetie." He greeted.

"Hey. How was your day?" She replied, pulling back the covers on her bed.

"Alright. I drove around a lot then took a short break in a small town. I got you something."

"Oh, really? And what might that be?"

"Just something cute I found at a thrift shop. I thought of you when I saw it, so…how about you?"

"Fine. Nothing eventful." _Damn. I lied to him without even thinking about it. Now I can't tell him…_

"It's snowing, actually." She added, glancing out the window again.

"Oh, yeah? Is it sticking?" Leon questioned.

"Mm-hmm. A bit. It's cold out."

"I wish I was there to warm you up."

"Me too. There's no change in Jill's condition, by the way."

"Yeah, I figured as much. She may wake up a week from now…a year from now. We won't know for sure till it happens."

Claire sighed and reached for her alarm clock. She'd be sleeping in tomorrow since she had nothing to do until eight that night. "Yeah."

"Claire, are you okay?" Leon asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"…things have been…weird between us lately."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that things don't seem normal. Like we're drifting from each other or something."

_Oh God, does he know? Did he send someone to spy on me? Should I fess up now and get it over with?_

"What are you saying?" She squeezed out.

"Remember when we first starting going out, we'd take walks and talk about everything and the first time we…it was like magic." He replied.

"It's still like that."

"For you, maybe. I feel like you care more about modeling than being with me."

"I could say the same thing about your work. You know that's not true."

"Whatever. Listen, I have to go. It's raining and I shouldn't stay on the phone. Can you do me a favor tomorrow?"

"…sure."

"Someone at work gave me a plant and I haven't been taking the best care of it. It probably needs to be watered so can you run by my apartment and do it for me?"

Turning off the light, Claire nodded to herself. "Okay."

"Thanks. What are you doing tomorrow?" Leon asked.

"I have a gig at eight."

"Oh…that's good. Have fun, I guess."

"Thanks. I'll call you later."

"Sure. Talk to you then…love you."

"Love you, too. Bye."

The following day, Claire woke up late and took a quick shower. After jotting down a small shopping list, she got in her car and headed to the supermarket. Her mind was filled with conflicting thoughts. She already made the decision not to tell Leon about Kazuya's flirtatious behavior for the time being. She could keep it a secret as long as nothing further happened between her and the famous photographer.

But she couldn't guarantee that. After mulling around the supermarket for an unnecessary amount of time, Claire finally headed towards Leon apartment. She had been to his place dozens of time, even when he wasn't there, but now she felt like snooping around. Leaving the groceries in the car, she quickly hurried into his apartment. It was a fairly nice place, a bit messy but that's how Leon liked it.

She started in the bedroom, looking in drawers and other conspicuous places. There were no phone numbers, or ladies underwear laying around. She searched under his bed, and in old shoe boxes for love letters from mystery women. Leon was starting to look saintly. Claire quickly checked the bathroom for toothbrushes, earrings and other things. Leon still had the "His" and "Her" towels up. The "Her" towel was bone-dry.

_Why am I hoping to find something? __Leon__ wouldn't cheat on me…he's too good for that. But if he did, then would what I'm doing be justified? What _am_ I doing? I'm snooping around my boyfriend's apartment! _

With a defeated sigh, Claire stood up and went into the kitchen. She filled a glass with water, and went into the small living room to water Leon's dying plant. Upon returning to the kitchen, she noticed the answering machine light was flickering. Her index finger slowly moved towards the play button. _Leon__ would want to know if he had any important phone calls, no? _She pressed the button and listened attentively.

"Ah, hi, Leon….this is Sarah, from the other night?" A female voice began. "I just was calling you to thank you. Like I said, I was starting to think there were no good people in this town, but you prooved me wrong. It means so much to me, you just being there. Um…I think fate brought us together, that night, and I just wanted to thank you."

Claire staggered back, falling against the wall. Her hand covered her mouth in shock. Tears rolled down her cheeks as she slid to the floor. _Oh my God…I can't believe this…he cheated on me? Recently, too…oh, God._ Pushing herself up from the floor, Claire stumbled towards the door of the apartment. Her head was spinning as she hurried to her car. It was a miracle she didn't walk into oncoming traffic.

Once safely inside, Claire broke down on the steering wheel. _How could he? How could he? He should have said something if he thought we were growing apart! Instead of talking, he went and fucked some woman! I thought he had honor! How could he do this…_

Later that night, Claire called Leon on her way to her shoot. He sounded normal, like everything was fine. He had just arrived in Ajo and was going to start his investigation immediately. Claire wished him luck, and told him not to call her because she'd be working. She was careful not to come off to bitchy, or else he might detect something.

At this point, she didn't really care if Leon found out about her and Kazuya's relationship, if one might even call it that. He was simply acting seductively towards her, and she hadn't returned the gestures. That didn't even compare to Leon's bedding another woman. The night was cold, and dark. A full moon hung in the sky, casting the city with a bright blue-ish glow.

She was still feeling hurt by Leon's betrayal as she walked into the Sunrise building. The place was pretty much vacant. Everyone made it a point to leave no later than 6. Most of the lights were off as well, making Claire's walk to the photo suite a bit spooky. She thought of Leon, and their time in Raccoon City. They were both strangers, back then. That relationship grew; they became lovers and were soon inseparable. When did that change?

Leon moved up in the ranks quickly, as expected, and was currently a first grade detective along with Chris. Claire on the other hand was indecisive about a career. She finally decided on modeling, and Jill accompanied her on her many trips to the different agencies. When she first arrived at Sunrise, the people automatically assumed that Jill was applying. Didn't they know how much that would sting?

The photo suite was mostly dark, except for the safe lights near the exits, and the moonlight pouring in. Claire didn't realize it, but at some point through her reminiscing she had started to cry. She made her way over to Kazuya, who had a prop bed set up.

"Hi." She greeted, stopping a few feet from him. He turned and raised an eyebrow at her.

"Are you…okay?" He questioned. She shook her head and covered her face. "Your eyes will be red."

"My boyfriend is cheating on me."

"How unfortunate."

"To think that I was feeling guilty about you and me! How could he do this to me!"

"Don't feel guilty about your feelings."

Claire wiped her face. "I don't. Not any more. Not after he goes and sleeps with some strange woman." She retorted. Kaz stood beside her.

"Well, there are two ways to handle this." His accented voice said softly.

"And what might those be?"

"One…you can approach him and shout and let him know you feel hurt. Or two, you can get _shizuka no fukushu_."

"And that is?"

"Silent revenge. Get back at him without his knowledge. Then, consider it even."

"How would I do that?" Claire asked.

"That depends how far you would like to take it." He replied, turning back to his camera. "And who with."

"Are you propositioning me?" Claire questioned, pulling her coat off. _Why did I wear something provocative today? I'm such an idiot, feeding into his desires._ She wore a lacy tank top, not quite fit for the weather outside.

Kazuya sighed. Claire waited for an answer. "Hey, don't ignore me! I asked you a question." She said, jumping up.

"What does it matter?" Kaz asked.

"What is it with you? First you're an asshole, then you're all over me, now you're acting so cold! Are you bi-polar or something?"

He chuckled, running his fingers through his loose hair. "Why do you care? You have some boyfriend who cheats on you, you cry over him, then come over here to gain sympathy? What's with _you_?"

"I still love Leon, but this hurt me! And my best friend is in the fucking hospital in a fucking coma, and I have no one to talk to! And don't even act like you were sending me any signals, either. Maybe you can suck a girl's neck in Japan and not think anything of it, but not here."

Kaz stalked over to her and put his face right in front of her's. "Well, Miss Claire. My deepest apologies. I won't go near you any more, okay?" He said, smiling smugly.

"That's not what I want, I just—" Claire covered her mouth. _Do I want him to continue trying to seduce me? Will I feel better if I get even with __Leon__ and have an affair as well?_

"I think…that you don't know what you want. Let me know when you figure it out." Kaz said finally, straightening his back.

Claire huffed. "What do I have to wear?" She asked. Kaz pointed to a screen. She stalked over and walked behind it. There was some lingerie waiting for her. Claire was about to ask what the deal was when Kaz called out, "The campaign is very sex driven. American woman are seen to be a bit exotic in Japan. The slogan has something to with exotic things."

She began to feel a little bit nervous as she changed into the sexy clothes. No one but Leon had seen her in such things. _I'm a professional. Models do things like this all the time. I'll be fine. _Biting her lip, Claire walked out from behind the screen over to the bed. "Sit for make up." Kaz said, reaching for a make up case. She did as she was told, wondering how she could casually cover her cleavage. He pulled up a stool in front of Claire and started searching for the right colors.

"Your eyes are very blue. We must bring them out more. There are no blue eyes in Japan…except in contacts." He said, collecting eyeshadow pods in his hand.

"Mm-hm." Claire sat nervously, wringing her hands in her lap. Kaz turned to her.

"Relax. No need for nerves." He said calmly. "Close your eyes." With a sigh, Claire did.

_There's no turning back now. I'm too far down the track._


	9. Sin

_"Colored in a shower of sin, I continue to wander the barren road. I won't let anyone touch this love. That's our defiance of god." Hyde, Finale_

Leon stood outside of the Ranchero Grill in Ajo, Arizona. He had driven many miles to get where he was. Now, he was almost afraid to go inside. The night was dark, and cool. Loud voices seeped through the slightly ajar windows on each side of the establishment. With a deep sigh, Leon started forward towards the entrance.

The place was full of people, most of them talking loudly with a cigarette between their fingers. Leon slowed his breathing to limit his intake of the poisonous air. He made his way to the bar and knocked on it with his knuckles. The barkeep glanced up at him with a "You're not from around here" look on his face. Leon sat on the stool and tried to look more natural.

"Hey, buddy. C'mere for a sec'." He said to the guy, pulling a picture of Chris from his pocket. The man, rather reluctantly moseyed over to where Leon was seated.

"What can I get ya?" He asked, drying his hands on a towel.

"A cold beer would be fine. Hey, have you seen this guy around here lately?" Leon replied, sliding Chris' picture across the bar's surface.

"I ain't seen nobody." The guy said before even seeing the picture. He poured Leon's beer and set it down on the counter with a thud. "And you can tell your boss, or whoever sent you here, to keep his goons outta my establishment."

With a sigh, Leon showed the man his badge. "I'm a cop from up North. My partner disappeared. I got information saying he's down here. I would appreciate it if you cooperated." He replied. The guy let out a throaty grumble.

"I don't know why people keep choosing my place as some kinda rendez-vous. Alright, buddy. I'll tell you what I know. But none of this comes back to me, got it?" He said finally.

Leon nodded. "Alright, follow me." The barkeep said, motioning towards the jukebox. "Larry, take over." Leon glanced at this Larry fellow, who looked quite simliar to the guy he was following. Perhaps they were brothers. Leon followed the barkeep down into the basement. It was a dark, dank room with assorted bottles of alcohol everywhere.

"Ok, sir. What have you got?" Leon questioned, ready to reach for his gun. The man sat on a wooden barrel and sighed.

"Some time ago, this guy comes in, right? Some kinda ethnic. He looks sick-like…pale and sweaty, that kinda thing. He gives me this sealed envelope and has me read it in complete privacy."

"What was in the envelope?" Leon questioned.

"A picture, a letter, and some cash. The letter said something about a girl coming, and looking for this sick ethnic. He gave me instructions to give to her whenever she got here."

"The picture was of the girl?" Leon asked. The guy nodded. "What did she look like?"

"Pretty…tall. Short red hair, I think. Anyways, she was supposed to come down a few days ago. But she never showed. The guy came back, causing a big scene. I told him she never showed up, and he just left. Now, the other day _another_ guy comes in with the picture of this girl."

Leon held his hand up. "What'd he look like? Was this him?" He questioned, producing the picture of Chris again. The man took the picture and peered at it.

"…yeah, this is him. He comes in, all pissed off, and I'm thinking he's some mob goon. He shows me the picture and tells me to tell him everything I know about her or something like. So, I figure the guy is a nut case and walk away. I thought he left, but then I'm on my way back from the john, that little space that ya can't see the bar from, and he pulls a piece on me."

Leon sighed and ran his hand through his hair. "What happened next?" He asked.

"He threated to kill me. Now, I have to ties with this sick ethnic, so I spilled his information. I mentioned the sick ethnic, and he seemed to know who I was talking about."

"Carlos, probably. Keep going."

"So he wants to know what I was supposed to tell the girl. At this point, I just wanted him to get out of my face, so I gave him the envelope the _other_ guy gave me, minus the cash, and told him to leave. He did."

"So Chris was here, and presumably looking for Carlos, who had something important to tell Jill. You wouldn't happen to recall what information was in the envelope would you?" Leon questioned.

"Aiyai yai! What is this, some kinda…for God's sake, three different people somehow find my place, all looking for different information, or some kinda help. Jesus Christ."

"Look, pal. A cop is missing, and I'm just trying to find him. As of this moment, you're helping in a police investigation. Keep helping, and you might get some kind of monetary reward."

The guy seemed interested. "Oh, yeah? Well, you're in luck Mr. Cop. I just so happened to make some copies, just in case someone tried to get over on me." He replied. Leon restrained from smiling like an idiot.

"I'll need those copies, then." He said calmly. The man begrudgingly waddled over to the safe in a dark corner of the basement.

"Shit like this is always finding me. What's with this sick ethnic anyway? He looked like some kinda cancer patient or something."

"That's what I'm here to find out, buddy. Hey, what's your name anyway?" Leon asked.

"You can call me Earl. And there better not be any more of you's coming down here, alright? This is the end of this." Earl said, producing the photocopies.

"Well, I can't guarantee that you won't get any surprise visits in the future, but I won't be involved, Earl. Can you direct me to a motel around here?" Leon asked, looking at the papers.

"Aren't you gonna have some dinner first? Do me that much, at least. Let me get something out of this damn charade." Earl said, heading back upstairs. Leon held back from asking if the food was good. Earl was in a good position to kick Leon in the head.

"Sure. What's the house special?"

"Quesadillas. Spicy, with a side of onion rings and a brew to go with it."

"Great, I'll take that."

Later in the evening, after Leon had his dinner and a bad case of indigestion, he called up Claire. There was no answer at her house or her cell phone, so he left her a voice mail.

"I found a guy who's seen Chris, and got information from this restaurant owner about where he went. I think Carlos is really sick, and called Jill for help. But since Jill got shot, Chris had to come instead. I just had a bite to eat, and am going to be staying at a motel. Nothing fancy, though. Give me a call when you get this. Hope you're okay."

Claire could hear her phone vibrating as she ran her fingers through Kaz's hair. She knew that it was Leon calling, but she continued to run her hands up and down his naked back while he nipped at her neck. The sound of the vibrating phone stopped, and all that could be heard were gasps and quiet moans. Leon was absolutely clueless as to what Claire was doing on the other end while he explained his day. He wouldn't receive an honest description the next time he spoke to her.

She would omit the message from Leon's lover, the tears, confiding in Kazuya and their eventual love making. She wouldn't tell him how good it felt, or how different the two men were. How could she?

It had begun to rain in Ajo when Leon circled the same area before pulling over. He checked over the guy's written directions to make sure he didn't make any mistakes. "Left at the interstate sign. There were two lefts! Was it a big left, or a slight left? Dammit, Earl." Leon sighed and rubbed his eyes. He listened to the sound of the rain for awhile before being startled by knocking on his passanger window. Checking for his gun, Leon lowered the window.

There was a scantilly clad women leaning towards the window. "Can I help you?" Leon asked. She had no protection from the downpour of rain, and her clothes were thoroughly soaked.

"I was going to ask you the same thing." She replied. Leon removed his shield from his pocket and showed it to her. "Oh, shit." She spat, turning to run.

"Hey, wait a second." Leon called, unlocking the door. "I'm not going to arrest you. Here, get in."

Hesitantly, the woman returned and got into the car. "You don't let the badge control your life, huh?" She asked, wiping the water from her face.

"I try not to. What are you doing out in the rain?" Leon asked, handing her a box of tissues.

"Thanks. I got kicked out of my shit-hole apartment, and don't have money to stay at a hotel. Gotta make a living, right?"

"You can make a better living than this." Leon said.

"Can you tell me a job where I can get fifty bucks just for opening my mouth?" The woman asked.

"…sure…you could be a teacher. Or a uh…reporter? People get paid to talk, you know." Leon stuttered.

"God, you're dense! Fifty for oral, one fifty for sex, and you gotta use a condom."

"Woah, I'm not sleeping with you! I'll pay for you to stay at a motel, alright? I was heading to one any way." Leon explained. Claire would have a fit if she knew about this.

"How much is it a night at a motel?" The woman asked.

"I don't know. I'm hoping less than a hundred bucks. I don't have much cash with me, but at least I have a credit card." Leon replied, turning back onto the road.

"The motel is that way." The woman said, pointing to Leon's left.

"That's the left Earl was talking about, I guess."

The two made it to the motel, and Leon got quite a look from the guy behind the counter when they arrived. "Two single's." Leon requested.

"You sure?" The guy asked.

"Why wouldn't I be?"

"Two twenty, sir." Leon handed the guy his credit card and looked around. He wrinkled his nose at the poor décor. "Here's your keys. You want a wake up call?"

"No thanks." Leon replied, taking the keys and turning around.

Misty, the prostitute, was waiting in the lobby which was really just a room with two chairs. He tossed one of the keys at her. "Take a warm shower and hang your clothes to dry. I didn't bust you today, so you're lucky. Don't keep doing this, okay?" He warned. She frowned at him, but said nothing as he walked towards the stairs. The place reminded him of the Bates Motel in a lot of ways. The room he would be staying in was simple. There was a bed, cabinet, a table with a vase of fake flowers in it. The bathroom was a little grungy.

The tub needed to be scrubbed out and the faucets worked, but barely. Leon hesitantly took a hot shower and prepared himself for bed. There wasn't a t.v., so all he could do was sit and read over the information Earl had given him.

"In the south of the city, there's an old diner. In the bathroom, there'll be a note behind the toilet with a number on it. Call it, and someone will meet you out from in a taxi in 15 minutes. Tell him 'Fast but safe', and he'll take you to me. Be safe Jill, I hope to see you soon."

Leon sighed. Chances were that Chris already called the number and found Carlos. How could Leon persuade the guy into picking him up? There was a knock on Leon's door that caused him to jump. With a sigh, he put the papers into the dresser drawer and walked over to the door. He opened it up and was surprised to find Misty on the other side. "What's up?" He asked, resting his hand on the door knob. Ignoring his question, she barged into the room. "Hey, what are you doing?"

"Checking your room out, sweetheart. I was wondering if _all_ the rooms in this place were shit holes, or just mine." She answered, peering into the bathroom.

"Yeah, this room sucks, too. I'm expecting a call, so if you don't mind…." Leon said slowly, hoping she'd get the hint.

"Oh, the call can wait. Besides, I really have to pay you back. This place may be a dump, but it's better than looking for john's out in the rain, right?"

Leon held up his hands. "Listen, I told you that you don't have to pay me back. Really. Just go back to your room and get some sleep." He said, gesturing towards the door. Misty advanced on him, and put her hands on his shoulders.

"Ooh, you really ought to loosen up, babe." She cooed, pushing him onto the bed.

"Hey!" Leon exclaimed as he was felt up. Putting his hands on her shoulders, he pushed her away from him.

"Listen, I appreciate the….affection, but I have a girlfriend, and I'm a cop. This is wrong. Please, go back to your room." He said, keeping her at a distance.

"God, you're so uptight. Your girl will never know." Misty pouted.

"Yeah, but _I _will. Don't worry about the money, okay?"

"What if I wanted to anyway?"

"Go."

She licked her lips and thrust her middle finger in his face. As she stormed out of the room, she muttered something about Leon being a fag and slammed the door. With a sigh, Leon ran his hand through his hair. He guiltily reached for the phone, hoping that Claire would be home by then.

While Claire scrubbed her skin red in the shower, her phone began to ring. "Son of a bitch!" She exclaimed, throwing her loofah angrily onto the tub floor. Twisting the water knobs off, she yanked the shower curtain open and grabbed her bathrobe. She tightened the belt around her slender waist and went for the phone.

"Hello?" She said, a little impatiently.

"Hey, it's me." Leon replied.

"Oh…hi. How are you?"

"Just settling in for the night. Did I bother you or something? You sound frustrated."

"No…I was just in the shower finally when you called."

"Oh, I'm sorry. Do you want me to call back?"

"I'm already out, so what's the point."

"Sorry." Leon snapped slightly. He chose to skip over the whole prostitute thing for now, since Claire seemed to be in such a foul mood.

"Anyway, what's up?"

"Well, Chris has definitely been here. And I think he's met up with Carlos at some point, probably as soon as he got here."

"Oh, really?"

"Yeah. There was this bar owner who had all this information. He kept mentioning this 'sick ethnic', so I _think_ he means Carlos, I'm not one hundred percent sure yet. Anyway, Carlos set up this whole rendezvous thing for Jill, but since Jill was shot, I think Chris came in her place."

"And…?"

Leon sighed. "Carlos left a note in the bathroom of some diner, with the number of a guy who'd pick Jill up and presumably take her to Carlos. But if Chris has been here, chances are that if I call that number, the guy won't come." He explained.

"So what now? Are you at least going to try?" Claire asked.

"Yeah. I'll talk to the guy on the phone, and hopefully persuade him to come get me. Tell him that I'm Chris' partner, and I know everything that's going on. I can try to bribe him, if it comes down to that."

"Alright, I hope it works. Have you called Chris' cell yet?"

"No, I probably should to let him know where I'm at with this."

"Yeah…I'll let you go then. I'll get back to my shower."

"Okay, then. I guess I'll call you if anything else comes up. Oh, how'd that shoot go? You had one today, right?" Leon said. Claire stiffened, memories of the night flooding into her memory.

"…Fine. It went well, the guy was a real pro." She said finally.

"That's great. I can't wait to see how the pictures came out."

"Yeah, me too. Alright, honey, I'll talk to you later."

"Okay, good night."

"Night."


	10. Decisions

_"Making time which has come to a standstill move again.__ There are so many things I don't want to forget. Tomorrow at this time, surely I'll be crying. I'll probably be thinking of you." Utada Hikaru, First Love_

Leon entered the only diner in South Ajo, eager to get to the bathroom. Would the information still even be there, or will it be another dead end? To avoid suspicion, he sat at the counter and ordered some breakfast. Several thoughts were running through his head, mostly about the events of the upcoming day. In the back of his mind, he thought of Claire and how she had been acting lately. When he got home, things would have to be sorted out between them. When the waitress bought his coffee over, Leon asked where the restrooms were. She directed him to a thin hallway at the end of the diner. With excitement building in his gut, Leon made his way to the bathroom.

There was no one else in the small room, so he began searching behind the toilets. "Come on….please…" Leon removed the lid of the tank in the second stall and found a number pencilled into the ceramic coating. "Jackpot." Leon pulled out his cell phone and put the number in. After he finished his breakfast, he'd call and hope that he'd get to Carlos. He washed his hands and went to his breakfast. A warm plate of pancakes, eggs, and bacon were waiting for him. He grabbed a knife and fork and dug in, hoping that it would taste as good as it looked.

Some ways away, as Leon enjoyed his breakfast, Claire was laying awake in her bed. She didn't want to get up and face the world. _Adultery is a sin. If __Leon__ ever finds out, he'll be heartbroken. But if he was truly happy with me, then why did he sleep with this other girl?How do I even know that he did sleep with her? Maybe I should talk to someone about this. But who? Jill's half dead. Rebecca is in __New York__. Chris…I couldn't talk to him about this anyway. He'd probably rip Kaz's head off. Maybe I can talk to Jill…if I just got it off my chest at least, maybe I'd feel a bit better._

Tossing her blanket off, she pulled some warm clothes on. Snow blanketed the neighborhood, making everything shimmer. _Leon__ loves this time of year. He'd probably make me a cup of cocoa and take a walk in the park together…_

She scowled at her reflection in the bathroom mirror as she brushed her teeth. She knew she wasn't the most beautiful woman in Washington, but she wasn't a beast either. Leon had supported her when she decided to go into modeling because he believed in her. But lately he had started to become distant. He became so enveloped in his work, talking non-stop about the cases he was working on. Going over gruesome murders at dinner. _And he accused me of being obsessed with work…_

The air had a winter chill as Claire made her way to her car. She almost regretted going outside at all. It was the perfect day to just lounge around and watch t.v. Claire wasn't being a very good friend to Jill, however, and she was determined to at least spend some time with the poor woman. Snow began to fall as Claire pulled into the hospital's parking lot. Christmas would be coming soon, her and Leon's fourth. Would they even be together by that time? Wiping away warm tears, she hurried to Jill's room. The hospital was surprisingly empty and quiet when she arrived at the I.C.U.

Jill still had a bandage around her head, but it wasn't as thick as it had been the last time Claire had seen her. The freckles on her nose were pale but still a prominent feature. Her beautiful eyes were hiding behind creamy eyelids with long lashes. She was truly beautiful.

"Jill, I have a confession for you. Well, I guess I should apologize for not being here as much as I should. You're my best friend…I guess I just got too caught up in my own buisness to make time for you. Leon's away, down in Nevada or some where. He's chasing after Chris…he really loves you, you know? He'd never get the balls to finally tell you…but I have a feeling that you already know. Anyway…when I was at Leon's house, I heard a message from some woman. I'm not certain but it sounded like the two slept together recently. She was thanking him and all this shit…after I heard that message, I had a shoot to get to."

She took a shaky breath, and turned to make sure no nurses were eavesdropping. "The photographer is this guy from Japan named Kazuya. He acts really weird, but he seemed to have some kind of attraction to me. One night, he starting kissing my neck." Her hand wandered to the area he had kissed many days ago. "It sent shivers down my spine…he actually made me weak in the knees. And he's so cute sometimes…he gets 'l' and 'r' confused. One time he asked if I was 'flee'…" Claire stared at the tile floor and remained silent for awhile. _When was the last time I giggled like this about __Leon_

"I guess I might as well get to the point. Last night…after I heard the message, I went to this shoot with Kaz. I had to wear lingerie. There was a bed set up, and the moonlight was pouring in the room. I stopped feeling nervous, and guilty, and finally stopped thinking about Leon. All I did was stare at Kaz behind that camera. His hair was so silky..his skin was so smooth. He had to fix my makeup at one point, but…he never got to. I kissed him first. I wasn't even thinking about what I was doing…I just yanked his shirt open, ripping the buttons right off. He unbuckled his pants and…it was like…I can't even describe it. I don't know if you've ever felt anything like this. But God…Kaz was just unbelievable. We did it right there on that prop bed with the moonlight and everything." She stared at her fingernails, unable to even look her friend in the face.

"We shared a smoke afterwards and just kind of stared at each other. We didn't say a single word after, not even a goodbye. I scrubbed my skin when I got home…that's when I started feeling guilty. Leon called me soon after, and I could barely talk to him. He sounded so innocent and hopeful and I just started to hate myself. I wondered if he'd ever find out. And a part of me wishes that he would stay in Nevada for a little while longer…so that I could be with Kaz again and not have to worry about him following me." Claire finally looked up at Jill and screamed.

Leon finished his breakfast and stared at his cell phone, wondering what he should say to whomever picks up. Finally, he pressed the call button and put the phone to his ear. The phone rang a few times, before a person on the other end picked up. "Ten minutes." They barked, before hanging up. Leon sighed and returned the phone to his pocket. "I hate playing the waiting game…" He mumbled to himself, sticking a toothpick in his mouth. He thought about calling Claire, but quickly decided against it. He felt like he had bothered her enough lately.

"You want your check, doll?" The waitress asked, stopping in front of Leon.

"Sure, that'd be great. Thanks." He replied, pulling his wallet out. She sent a piece of paper sliding down the bar in his direction.

"Four ninety-five, not bad at all." Leon put seven bucks on the table and turned to head outside. He pressed his arm to his side to reassure himself that his gun was still there.

He had a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach like this whole thing could be a set up. Then again, he'd won many tough battles, and he was prepared. After waiting outside for a few minutes, Leon noticed a car heading in his direction. He took a breath as the car slowed to a stop. Leon reached for the back door and slid into the car. It smelled like air freshener and fried food. "Fast but safe." Leon said, catching the driver's eyes in the rear view mirror.

"You got it." The man replied before speeding off.

Leon was silent during the ride. The driver took many turns and circled around blocks, an old trick so that Leon wouldn't know exactly where they were heading. He wanted to ask the driver questions, but knew that wouldn't be too wise. He said all he was supposed to say, and that was it. After about fifteen minutes of driving, the driver stopped in front of a house down a long dirt road. "Out." He instructed. Leon obeyed, and before he had even stepped out of the car, it started to speed away.

He watched the car disappear into the hazy distance before unholstering his gun. The house wasn't all that big. One floor, maybe two or three rooms deep. He circled the house, but couldn't reach any of the high windows. _I'm kind of heading into this thing blind. No one knows where I am, and if this _is _a set up, then I'm royally fucked. _He climbed the steps to the front door and slowly knocked on the old wooden door. He aimed at the floor, ready to raise his gun and fire if an unfamiliar face appeared. After a moment, he heard footsteps. Slowly, he raised his gun to chest level and was ready to fire. The door opened slowly and Leon's gun tightened around the trigger.

"Hold your fire." A voice said.

"Holy shit!" Leon holstered his gun and grinned. "You son of a bitch!" He charged into none other than Chris Redfield and gave him a big bear hug.

"Woah, Leon…let me breathe." Chris gasped, slapping Leon's back.

"I ought to punch you for the ulcers you've given me and your sister." Leon sighed, as Chris stepped out of the way to let him into the house.

"Yeah…I'm sorry about that. Things are a bit crazy right now." Chris replied, heading towards the kitchen.

"So, can you tell me what the hell's been going on?" Leon requested, taking a seat at an old wooden table.

"Well…after Jill got shot, I just went into panic mode. I didn't know what to do, but there was a paper in her pocket with a location. I just went there, which was here." Chris began. "I'll assume that you already went to the Ranchero Grill and found out about the number in the diner, right?" Leon nodded. "Well, I just followed the directions, and they led me here."

"So what'd you find?" Leon asked.

"Carlos. Half dead, barely able to walk…" Chris took a pause. "He…apparantly, there's some kind of mirrored Umbrella company. They abducted him and did all these kinds of tests. They injected him with some kind of virus and it's slowly killing him. It's like a cancer or something…he called Jill for help. But someone didn't want him to get help…so they killed Jill." He stopped talking and lowered his head. His body shook as he desperately tried to hold back tears. "She was the only person I could see myself with…the only woman I've ever loved…and she's dead." Leon put a hand on Chris' shoulder.

"That's the thing though, Chris. She's not dead. She's alive…in a coma, but alive none the less." He said.

Chris looked up, his eyes teary. "Don't fuck with me, Leon. I felt her die in my arms. I held her as she slowly stopped breathing and her body…just became lifeless. She died in my arms…but not before I told her I loved her." He smiled slightly. "At least I did that."

"Chris…Jill is laying in a hospital right now unconscious. Her heart is beating…she's alive. I swear to God." Leon said slowly.

"I don't get it…she had a bullet in her skull…how could she possibly survive?"

"You know Jill. I bet she heard you say you loved her and she wanted to reciprocate the affection."

Chris chuckled and wiped his face. "This is unbelievable." He said, still in disbelief.

"Yeah, I know. It must be a shock to you." Leon leaned back in his chair and sighed. "Your sister is probably going to kill you."

"I bet…but I couldn't just stay there, I had to do something."

"But you didn't have to ignore all of our calls! You could have been dead for all we knew!"

"You're right, I should have called, I should have answered the phone. But for all I knew, they could have tapped the line somehow and figured out where you guys were. I mean, we've managed to stay hidden from these people for this long, and I wasn't about to screw that up."

"Well, we figured that Umbrella was gone for good. They haven't popped up for years…I guess it was foolish for us to think that they could ever really be destroyed." Leon said with a sigh. Chris shook his head. "Hey, you really should give Claire a call. She has been worried to death about you." Leon added. Chris exhaled deeply.

"I guess you're right. There's no reason I should make her worry." He said finally. Leon slid his cell phone over the old, wooden table.

"I'm gonna take a leak. Don't talk too long, my battery's getting low." He said, before heading off to find the bathroom.

The house was rustic and old. Almost all of the furniture was made out of wood. With a shudder, Leon was reminded of the village he was sent to all those years ago. A tingle went up the length of his spine and stopped at his neck, making all of the tiny hairs stand on end. He spun around and drew his gun. He half expected to see a zombie, ganado, or whatever you'd like to classify them as. Instead, he saw an old friend barely able to stand.

"Carlos..?" Leon questioned, putting his gun away. Carlos' empty eyes slowly wandered up to meet with his.

"Hey." He breathed, leaning against the door frame.

"Chris told me…about what happened to you. I….I'm sorry.." Leon really didn't know what to say.

"Me too. I don't know what's worse…" He had to pause to breathe. "Being let go…or left to die in one of their lab cells." He started to sink to the floor, so Leon ran over to hold him up.

"God…I had no idea. Isn't there anything we can do? I mean…a cure?" Leon questioned as he helped Carlos over to his bed.

"They made it a point to tell me…before they tossed me out into the road….that they didn't bother making a cure. They basically created a cancer…and have no intention of helping anyone…"

Leon grit his teeth. "You tried to contact Jill as soon as you got out?" He questioned. Carlos nodded, his thin arms moving up to cover his face.

"I barely managed to get around town to leave the information for her. I was afraid to get her involved…but then…I didn't want to die." Carlos breathed slowly. "But now…death would be like sweet release…"

"Hey, don't talk like that! Don't give up now, not when we're finally here to help you."

"You can't do anything to help me…you mean well, Leon. I appreciate it but…I'm ready to die. I've made my peace with this. You have to, too."

"I didn't come all this way and give myself a fucking ulcer just to have you accept what fate's dealt you. Jill wouldn't let you give up, and I sure as hell won't either."

Carlos smiled tiredly. "You're so passionate…Claire's a lucky girl." He mumbled, before losing consciousness.

"Hey…hey, wake up." Leon went to shake Carlos' limp body, but Chris stopped him.

"Don't bother. He loses consciousness all the time. There's no point trying to wake him…he should rest anyway." He said.

"Is there really no hope in saving him?" Leon asked. He never was really all that close to Carlos, but they did share a common bond after all. Jill was the only one who really knew the man well, so it was no surprise that Carlos had called her first.

Chris ran his hand through his hair with a sigh. "Follow me." He said, heading towards the back door. He led Leon to the back yard, which had nothing but wooden boxes and an old tire swing hanging from a dead tree. "Look…I've been here a few days, and each day Carlos gets a little bit worse. I can't see him surviving for much longer. There's no way in hell that we could organize and coordinate a plan of attack in that short amount of time." He said finally.

"You're rather give up, than try? You'd be letting them win. Do you really want them to think that they can get away with this?" Leon questioned angrilly. "What if it was me? Or Claire? Or Jill? Would you give up so easily?"

"What's that supposed to mean? I'm looking out for his best interests. He's accepted his fate, and I'm not eager to screw it up." Chris retorted.

"By giving the guy a chance? What if someone examines him and sees that he could be treated? That he could survive?"

"Oh yeah? And what if they can't? What if he goes through the trouble of staying conscious long enough to answer questions, and then finds out it was all for nothing? You think he'd rather die in a hospital bed than in his own?" Chris questioned.

"At least we wouldn't be giving up." Leon spat, sitting on one of the wooden crates.

"Well right now, it's about what he wants. If _you_ want to go after these Umbrella Imposters, then fine. Call everyone up, make some plans, but don't go in there and tell Carlos he might live."

"I wasn't planning on lying to him. I just wanted to give him a little bit of hope. He'd do the same for all of us, don't you think?"

Chris nodded firmly. "Here's the plan: Rebecca's in New York, studying to be a doctor, right? She's going to get some kind of PhD. You call her up and arrange for her to fly back to Washington. We bring Carlos there so he can get checked out. Even if she can't come up with a cure, at least she can get him some morphine." He began. "In the mean time, we started getting everyone together to come up with a plan of attack. Carlos knows where they operate from. It's actually not that far from here. He has all the information….I guess they didn't think he'd be alive long enough to leak it. Someone will have to stay behind to help Rebecca keep an eye on Carlos and Jill…we go in there, and kill everyone. No survivors, no acceptions."

Leon raised an eyebrow. "We have to assume that everyone there is guilty and deserves death." Chris continued.

"And what about the innocent, like Carlos?" Leon questioned.

"Then we put them out of their misery. So, are you in or not?"

With a hesitant nod, Leon stood up and gripped Chris' hand in his. They were in it for the long haul, but if they were successful, then they would defeat Umbrella once and for all. They would finally end the years of suffering .

To be continued in "A World without Mercy"


End file.
